There are three elements to Fees In University College Cork:

• Tuition Fee
• Student Contribution Charge
• Capitation Fee

All correspondence in relation to fees must be made to the UCC Fees Office at the first instance. For further support please see https://www.ucc.ie/en/financeoffice/fees/ 

The following information is to provide clarity on the payment of fees, schemes and eligiblity criteria.

Contribution Fee

University College Cork and all HEIs in the Republic charge an annual student contribution, formerly called the student services charge. It is also known as a registration fee and it covers student services and examinations.The maximum rate of the student contribution for the academic year 2024-2025 is €3,000.

Student grants/ SUSI

Student grants provide financial support to eligible students. There are 2 elements to the student grant - a maintenance grant and a fee grant. A maintenance grant is a contribution towards your living costs. A fee grant can cover:

• All or part of your tuition fees

• All or part of the student contribution

• Costs of essential field trips

If you have qualified for a maintenance grant, you will generally qualify for a fee grant.

If you do not qualify for a maintenance grant, but your family’s reckonable income is below certain limits, you may qualify for a partial fee grant.  For more information on SUSI please see: SUSI

Capitation

This capitation fee covers membership of the Union of Students of Ireland (USI) and of the Mardyke Sports Arena.  The capitation Fee of €207 (in 2024/25) is not covered by the Higher Education Grant Scheme aka SUSI. All students must pay this fee.

Free Fees Initiative

Tuition Fee

Under the Government's Free Fees Initiative, the tuition fees for 2024/25 for certain full-time undergraduate students is paid by the State to UCC.

Tuition fees may be paid in respect of the full-time students who have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss State/United Kingdom for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to their third-level course and who meet the criteria of the scheme. Eligibility under the scheme is determined at date of entry to the course. Details of the nationality criteria to be applied are listed below.

The scheme is subject to the following conditions:

1. Tuition fees will be paid in respect only of students attending full-time undergraduate courses.
2. The courses must, other than exceptionally, be of a minimum of two years duration.
3. The courses must be followed in one of the eligible institutions.
4. Tuition fees will not be paid in respect of:
   • students pursuing a second undergraduate course.
   • students who already hold a postgraduate qualification.

   Notwithstanding this condition and subject to compliance with the other conditions of the Free Fees initiative, students who already hold a Level 6 qualification (Higher Certificate or National Certificate) or a Level 7 qualification (Ordinary Bachelor Degree or National Diploma) and are progressing to a Level 8 (Honours Bachelor Degree) course without necessarily having received an exemption from the normal duration of the course may be deemed eligible for free fees.

5. Tuition fees will also not be paid in respect of students undertaking a repeat year of study at the same year level. In this regard, this condition may be waived where evidence of exceptional circumstances, such as cases of certified serious illness, is provided.
6. Subject to compliance with the other conditions of the Free Fees initiative, students who have previously pursued but have not completed a course of third level study and subsequently resume third level studies:
   • may be deemed eligible for free fees where the third level course concerned did not attract any exchequer funding (e.g. fees, maintenance, tax relief, subsidy towards course cost)
   • are not eligible for free fees for the equivalent period of time spent on the first course of study where the third level course concerned did attract exchequer funding (as above). Part-time and evening students are included in this category.
7. Tuition fees will be paid in respect of eligible students who, having attended but not completed approved courses, are returning following a break of at least five years in order to pursue approved courses at the same level.
8. The tuition fees payable do not include the payment to be made by students towards the cost of registration, examination and student services.

Nationality

In order to meet the nationality criteria of the Free Fees Initiative, students must meet one of the following:

• Students must be a national of
  • an EU Member State,
  • a state which is a contracting state to the EEA Agreement,
  • the Swiss Confederation,
  • United Kingdom, or
• Persons who have official refugee status in this State. Time spent from date of official lodgement of application papers for refugee status will be included for the purpose of meeting the three year residency requirement. (see Eligibility of Refugees);
• Family members of a refugee who are granted permission by the Minister for Justice and Equality to enter and reside in the State under Section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996
• Persons who have permission to remain  in the State as a family member of a Union citizen under the provisions of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006 and 2008 and Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Persons who have been granted Humanitarian Leave to Remain  in the State (prior to the Immigration Act 1999)
• be a person in respect of whom the Minister for Justice and Equality has granted permission to remain  following a determination not to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999
• be a person granted permission to reside in the State under Regulation 4(4) or 16(3)(a) or 16(4)(a) of S.I. No. 518 of 2006 (see Subsidiary Protection with Permission to Reside in the State, below)
• be a person granted certain permissions under the International Protection Act, 2015

For further information please see https://hea.ie/funding-governance-performance/funding/student-finance/course-fees/

Change of nationality

Entitlement to free fees for non-EEA nationals who acquire EEA citizenship during the course of their third level studies and issues surrounding fee status of non-EEA nationals.

A ‘Change of Nationality’ clause forms part of the Free Fees Schemes. As is currently the case students, who do not meet the nationality criteria of the schemes, will continue to be ineligible for free fees, however if such students subsequently acquire EEA citizenship during their third level studies they may be entitled to free tuition fees for the remainder of their course of study as follows:

• Students who acquire EEA citizenship up to 31st January in an academic year may be entitled to free tuition fees from the second half of the academic year.
• Students who acquire EEA citizenship from 1st February may be entitled to free tuition fees from the commencement of the next academic year.

In order to be eligible under this ‘Change of Nationality’ clause students must have met all other criterion of the Free Fees Schemes, apart from nationality, at date of entry to their course of study.

The policy in relation to non-EEA nationals who are not naturalised is

• that such nationals who have approved residence in the State are not eligible for free fees or grants, however once naturalised such persons are regarded as fully meeting the nationality requirements of the schemes.
• that non-EEA nationals without permission to remain in the State (including those still in the asylum process) or those with permission to remain on a short-term or temporary basis (such as work permits or study visas) are not eligible for free fees or grants.

Repeat Fees

If you find yourself repeating, you will be liable for the full contribution and tuotion per 5 credit module.  To calculate the total fee you will oweand how to pay, please see the UCC fees Scheduale here https://www.ucc.ie/en/financeoffice/fees/schedules/ 

If you are worried or stressed in relation to the payment of fees, please engage with the fees office by emailing fees@ucc.ie or make an appointment with the Budgetary Advisor who can advise.